Author's Note: The plot bunny feels horrible and apologizes for frustrating everyone! For that, he doesn't request any carrots at all!
PS. Elyad, I laughed so hard when I read your review. It's gotta be my absolute favorite. Nice potty language!
All Over Again: The Tailies!
Ana Lucia stopped short when they saw all the trees moving. They were searching for Goodwin because he'd gone off to find food and never returned, and she knew they never should have let him go off alone with people getting snatched by those insane people who lived on this island. There was hardly any of them left at this point, just her, Eko, Libby, Bernard and Cindy.
"What the hell is that?" she questioned. "Holy shit.." she muttered, watching as a tower of smoke went looming passed them faster then anything she'd ever seen. She glanced to the side and watched the woman who was being dragged behind it. Her eyes widened as she watched her clawing at the ground for any way to stop and Ana quickly leaped, grabbing onto her hand.
Juliet looked shocked at the sudden grip on her hand and she stared into the woman's eyes. 'Ana Lucia' was a tail section survivor, she had studied the photo and the file merely because Goodwin was going to be with these people.
"Eko!! Help me!" Ana Lucia cried out.
Eko quickly grabbed the blonde woman around the waist that Ana had managed to grab hold on and was surprised when the smoke that had its hold on her disappeared off into the jungle.
Bernard stepped forward immediately as Eko placed Juliet on her feet. "Juliet!"
Juliet looked over at Bernard and she smiled a little.
"You know her?" Ana Lucia questioned, giving Juliet the once-over. The woman was a mess, clothes torn, bruises and bleeding hands from where she tried to claw herself free from that monster.
Bernard nodded. "Yes.. yes I do.." he stated, going over to Juliet's side.
"Hey Bernard.." Juliet stated with a sad smile.
Bernard quickly helped her take a seat. "How did that thing get you?" he questioned.
Juliet frowned. "I was.. on the beach," she told him. "I was with James and everyone else and that thing.. it just came barreling out of the jungle.." she explained cautiously. "I had to.. it was going to get James.. so I pushed him out of the way."
Bernard's eyes softened. He still remembered the way her eyes glistened with the unshed tears when she had politely declined his offer for tear. They looked exactly like that right now.
"There's more survivors?" Ana Lucia questioned immediately.
Juliet smiled sadly. "Yes.." she told them. "I can tell you how to get there.."
"Tell?" Ana Lucia questioned, arching an eyebrow up at her. "You're not going?"
Juliet shook her head. "When you get there.. Bernard.." she said quietly. "Tell James that I'm so sorry.."
Bernard frowned and placed his hands on her shoulders. "What are you talking about, Juliet?" he asked her. "I can't leave you out here alone.."
Juliet sighed. She pointed her finger in the direction she'd been dragged from. "As long as you head straight through in that direction you'll come out on the beach that they're all camped on, but it's quite a few miles.."
"You were dragged miles by that thing?" Ana Lucia asked in utter disbelief. "I agree with Bernard, you need to come with us.." she told her. "We can't just leave you out here."
Juliet stood up. "I can't go back there," she stated solemnly. "Those.. people," she stated, knowing better that the tail section, besides Bernard, didn't call them Others. "They're going to come back for me.. and I can't let anyone get hurt."
Bernard sighed, pulling off a piece of his shirt and ripping it into two. "Give me your hands," he told her, and watched as she obliged. He quickly wrapped the two pieces around her bleeding hands.
"Come back for you?" Libby questioned now, speaking for the first time. "You're saying those crazy people are trying to kidnap you?"
Juliet smiled warily at the other blonde. She looked at Bernard and pulled him closer, whispering into his ear. "Ben will try and find me.." she told him before pulling away and speaking for all of them to hear. "Don't you dare tell James you found me out here.. and if he finds out you did.. tell him I was dead," she clarified.
Bernard's eyes widened slightly. "I can't.."
"There she is!"
Juliet turned, watching as Tom and Pickett came running towards them. She turned back to Bernard and the rest of the people from the tail-section. "Ben will kill him if James keeps coming for me. Now go!! GO!"
Ana Lucia grabbed Bernard's arm and ushered him in the direction Juliet had told them to go with everyone else following quickly behind them.
"Jesus, Julie.." Tom stated, going over to her. He'd seen the people from the tail section go running off, but it wasn't as though Juliet would have been able to stop all of them herself. "What happened to you?"
Juliet glanced at herself for about the first time. "Ever get dragged through the jungle by a giant tower of smoke for a few miles?" she questioned, and watched as Tom and Pickett stared at her in shock. "Yes.. not exactly a vacation. Remind me never to do it again.."
Tom released a chuckle in response to her statement. He frowned when he noticed her already pale skin grow even more pale though. "Juliet.." he stated, reaching out to grab her as her knees gave out.
"Just tired.." Juliet mumbled into Tom's shoulder.
"Yeah I bet.." Tom stated with uncertainty. "We better get her back to the medical station so Ethan can clean up all these cuts and bruises.." he told Pickett. "She looks pretty bad."
"I can hear you, you know.." Juliet stated with a wavering voice.
"Yeah yeah," Tom replied with a roll of his eyes in Pickett's direction. "Can you walk?"
Juliet smirked slightly. "Yes.." she stated, even as Tom draped one of her arms over his shoulder to help her walk.
Pickett glanced around before lifting Juliet's other arm and putting it over his shoulder and helping Tom walk her to the medical station.
~*~*~*~
"He hasn't moved at all.." Kate stated, sitting down next to Jack. "That thing has never come up on the beach before, Jack.."
Jack nodded. "I know.. I don't know how to explain it," he replied, watching Sawyer sit beside Rose, exactly where they'd originally found the two last time.
"Do you think she's.."
Jack frowned now. "I don't know.. we didn't find her anywhere."
"She was only protecting Sawyer, that thing was heading towards him.." Kate muttered.
Jack sighed, leaning his head back against the tree behind them. Sure, when they'd first brought Juliet back to the beach she took a few unnecessary risks to herself, but never any like this. Both her and Sawyer had changed themselves for the better.
"Jack look.." Kate stated, standing and pointing.
Jack glanced over and watched as Bernard, Ana Lucia, Libby and Eko emerged from the jungle. "They're here already.. they shouldn't be here already," he stated quietly. "I really hope all this stuff that's going on isn't because things are moving along too quickly.. otherwise we're all in trouble."
"Rose!" Bernard yelled, heading over to her. They'd lost Cindy once again like last time on their way here and hadn't been able to find her.
Rose snapped her head up in surprise and stood from Sawyer's side, turning to look at Bernard coming over to her. She laughed a little and wrapped her arms around him.
Bernard glanced down at Sawyer sitting against the tree. He looked at Rose and she simply smiled sadly. He frowned, but regardless of Juliet's request he couldn't lie to the younger man. "Sawyer."
Sawyer glanced at Bernard as he squatted down next to him, and watched as the other members of the tail section stood behind him.
"Juliet.. I saw her, talked to her," he told him.
Sawyer stood up immediately and watched as Bernard did the same. "Where? Was she okay!?"
Bernard shook his head. "She wouldn't come back with us, said that they were after her, we had to go.. they were coming."
Sawyer ran his hand through his hair, still not comfortable with how short it was again. "Was she okay?" he repeated the question again.
Bernard sighed. "Ana Lucia saw her being pulled through the jungle by that monster.." he admitted. "She and Eko managed to pull Juliet away from it, she had a lot of bumps and bruises.. but she seemed alright."
Sawyer glanced at Ana Lucia and he could almost see the recognition in her eyes. But he ignored it.
"She went with them," Bernard told him. "I saw them take her with them before we got away.."
"She wanted us to tell you she was dead," Ana Lucia stated, watching as the Sawyer's eyes hardened. It wasn't until they'd walked onto the beach that the strange memories had hit her. She remembered being shot, dying. And yet, here she was again, staring at the man she'd romped with to get the gun she was shot with. "Because of a man named Ben.."
Bernard shot her a dirty look.
Sawyer frowned in response. "She told you.. to say she was dead?"
"She wants to protect you," Eko stated, speaking for the first time on the entire matter. "An admirable trait.."
Sawyer glared at him. "I don't need her to protect me," he stated. "I'm supposed to protect her.."
"She's afraid Ben will kill you.." Bernard finally admitted.
Sawyer was silent in response. She had voiced those fears to him multiple times when they'd been in the Dharma Initiative. She'd originally declined any type of relationship with him without telling him why, it took months before she opened up about Ben and his little obsession with her.
Rose tapped Sawyer lightly on the cheek. "You'll find her again, we're going to make sure of it.." she stated calmly. She looked over at Bernard. "Do you know where they went?"
Bernard nodded. "I heard them say they were going to take her to the medical station.."
"Well I'd say its time to go get the guns and give those sons of bitches in the medical station a surprisingly little howdy doody.." Sawyer stated.
()()END()()
Ooooh boy. Go Sawyer! Sorry about this taking a little longer to get up. I had to babysit yesterday, and today my car broke down. I spent 3 hours at the auto-shop for them to explain it would cost me $650 to fix. Now I'm carless until later tonight. Not to mention poor.